San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-10-20

Tell Juliet an old friend will act with her 4"
We made few new arrangements and
parted. | bought a copy Of the play at
Lacy's and studied the part over again.
Next day | got over TO Richmond in
good time. The day was fine, remember;
my spirits were rapidly rising, because it
was the fifteenth day since | had one OF
my usual attacks | was in great hopes
that the old man was really going to
change his life and behave with consider
alton toward me. With the birth Of hope
there revived in my heart some Of my old
feelings. had a real desire TO see Juliet
again, but yet the old warmth seemed
gone IL was desire to see one in whom
] had once been interested the desire TO
awake old memories, which / think prin-
cipally actuated me.
| found the dear girl waiting for me
with an impotence that ought to have
touched my heart, but which, somehow,
only seemed TO remind me OF old times.
My heart was gone-sOld to my master
with everything else. Mechanically
took her hands in mine, and kissed her on
the lips as used to do She threw both
arms round my neck, kissed me again
and again, and burst into tears of joy.
"Oh, Luke, Luker' she said, II have
bO lOuBtu W see fOu dSulu. ne time mas
been weary, weary, without you"
We sat together for half an hour, she
all the time talking to me, and l, remem-
bering what | used TO be with her, won
dering where the old feelings were gone
and trying to act as / used TO.
Luke, you are not growing cold to me,
are your" she asked, as some little gest-
ure or word Of hers passed me unnoticed.
n1l Tilt I ID Il. 4
make you think sop
81 will not think So" she said. at is
too great happiness to meet again. is it
not! And you are silent because you feel
too happy to speak. Is not that so?"
Presently it became time to 90 and
dress.
"Let me look at you, Sir Henry Wild
air" she said. Eyes, we shall do 1t very
well tonight. You are not looking, some
how, quite so well as you used, Luke
dear. Is it that London does not agree
with you? Are you working too hardi
Your face is swollen and-fancy-Mrs.
Mould says you look as if you had been
drinking"
Mrs. Mould was the dresser
If Mrs. Mould had seen me a fortnight
before she might well have said I had
been drinking A fortnight, however, of
rest had done wonders for me.
laughed, but felt little uneasy
We rang up at T.
The house was quite full, because my
Juliet was popular at Richmond.
began with all my former fire and
vigor, because | was acting again with
her. The old life came back to me; for
got my troubles, | was really happy, and
believe l acted well. At all events, the
house applauded. Between the first and
second acts sudden terror seized me. /
felt that the old man was eating again.
That passed off, because he ate very little.
But then he began to drink, and to drink
fast.
1t was no use fighting against it. l be-
heve the villain must have been drinking
raw brandy, because was drunk in five
minutes. | staggered and reeled about
on the stage, | laughed wildly and sang
foolishly, and then l stumbled down in a
heap and could not get up again. The
last thing | remember is the angry roar
of poor old Kerrans, beside himself with
passion, telling the carpenters to carry
that drunken beast away and throw him
into the road. | heard afterward that
they were obliged to drop the curtain, and
that the eclat of poor Juliet's benefit was
entirely spoiled. AS for myself, the car
penters carried me out to the middle of
Richmond Green, where they were going
to leave me, only one of them had compass
sion, and wheeled me to his own house in
a barrow.
In the morning l returned hastily to
London, sought my cottage at Islington
and shut myself in with an agony of
shame and humiliation.
/ was quite crushed by this blow. For
the first time l felt tempted to commit
suicide and end it all. To be sure ought
to have fOreseen this, and all the other
dreadful things. Directly my master, my
owner, got able to swallow, though he
could not eat, he could drink and ordered
the most fiery liquor he could procure,
with view to kill me off and begin with
another victim.
But Providence had ruled otherwise
Then began week of cruel suffering.
My master sent me word by Boule-de-
neige that he intended to finish me off
My appetite, he said, had been long fail
ing, and was now perfectly contemplate.
He complained that l had neglected my
part of the contract, that l must have
been practicing intemperance-th horrible
hypOcrite-tO have reduced so fine an
appetite to nothing in short four months
Therefore he felt obliged to tell me that
in a week or two l should probably find
the agreement ended. That was his
ferociOus way of putting it. He meant
that in a week l should be dead. His
words were prophetic, but not in the sense
in which he meant them.
He drank brandy now. He drank it
morning, noon and night. He drank it,
not because he liked it, but in hopes Of
dispatching me. Twas no sooner partially
recovered from one drunken bout than l
plunged into another.
lost all power of walking. l conld not
move about. | lay the whole day sick
and feverish on my bed, or, if got up at
all, it was only to change it for an easy
chair. could eat nothing.
Then began to have visions and see
specters in my loneliness and misery.
First 50 W all over again the scenes Of
my early liie-my poor deserted mother;
the tramp who took charge of me; the
sleep in which l nearly persisted; the
strolling actors with whom | wandered;
the girl with whom fell in love. Only
among them all there lowered perpetually
the ugly face of Boule-de-neige, spelling
the pleasant memories, and corrupting
the current of my thoughts with his
"Cluck- cluck," and his demoniac grin.
"How you do, Massa Lucraft' How
you feel your stumjack this morningi
Ole massa him berry fierce. Him gwins
to make the noyeau punch tomorrow.
Dat finish UNI off. Dat work um up.
You wait till tomorrow, Massa Lucraft."
could only groan.
L.
on, with a grin. "You berry grateful
vOrnp pppIeman Massa him 9th Won